Predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum stress urinary incontinence.

OBJECTIVE To identify predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum stress urinary incontinence (SUI). DESIGN Secondary analysis of data from a single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing 2 physiotherapy intervention programs for persistent SUI in postpartum women. SETTING Obstetric clinic of a mother and children's university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Women, ages 23 to 39 (N=57), were randomized to 1 of 2 pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training programs, 1 with and 1 without abdominal muscle training. INTERVENTION Over 8 weeks, participants in each group followed a specific home exercise program once a day, 5 days a week. In addition, participants attended individual weekly physiotherapy sessions throughout the 8-week program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Treatment success was defined as a pad weight gain of less than 2 g on a 20-minute pad test with standardized bladder volume after 8 weeks' treatment. The relationship between potential predictive PFM function variables as measured by a PFM dynamometer and success of physiotherapy was studied using forward stepwise multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS Forty-two women (74%) were classified as treatment successes, and 15 (26%) were not. Treatment success was associated with lower pretreatment PFM passive force and greater PFM endurance pretreatment, but the latter association was barely statistically significant. This model explained between 23% (Cox and Snell R(2)) and 34% (Nagelkerke R(2)) of the outcome variability. CONCLUSIONS The results contribute new information on predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum SUI.